


And Then The Lighting of The Lamps

by MatchLight



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Horror, Experimental Style, Horror, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Soundwave is a weird shadow creature, Weird, eldritch horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:07:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23065948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MatchLight/pseuds/MatchLight
Summary: Jazz stared at the shadow in the corner. Looking at it made him uneasy. It was wrong. There was nothing in the room to cast such a thick and oily patch of darkness. When he peeled his eyes away, in his peripheral, the shadow seemed to slide off the walls and shift.
Relationships: Jazz/Soundwave
Comments: 9
Kudos: 67





	And Then The Lighting of The Lamps

**Author's Note:**

> I know I say my one-shots are experimental but this one is REALLY experimental. It’s a bunch of short bits pieced together to form a story. Everything is in chronological order. This was written when I was sleep deprived, so there might be mistakes.
> 
> ALSO: the mechs are robots but live like humans? Like...The settings is almost humanformers but they're still mechs? It’s very weird, but please enjoy!

The soft pitter-patter of animal footsteps followed him closely. It has been for a while. But every time Jazz turned to glance behind him he was greeted with an empty street. Raindrops dripped from roof drains and Jazz walked on slightly faster. The guitar case in his servos was warm and sticky.

The sound followed him up to his doorsteps. He fumbled with his keys and only managed to get his door open on the second try. A shoe was placed against the door so a gap was left open. If a stray wished to come inside and wait out the rain, then he will welcome it.

~

The lights went out at 10 pm again today. This was the third time it happened. Always on a Tuesday and always at 10. Jazz was sitting on his couch plucking at his guitar when the lightbulb above him dimmed and phased out. No sparks or sudden pop. The light was shut as if by the smooth turn of a dial.

He checked the switchboard first, as he always did. Flipping the thing on and off didn’t work like it used to. However, the lights came back on a few hours later so he thought nothing of it and went to bed.

~

The next morning before sunrise, he tripped on something on his way to the kitchen. It was solid and wet and made a mess on the floor. When he switched on the lights, It was a dog bowl half-filled with water. Jazz didn’t have a pet.

“Alright.” He muttered to himself, “Alright. That’s strange.”

He was pretty tired for the past few days but not tired enough to purchase a bowl without remembering it.

~

The trail of paw prints led from his back door into the garden and stopped on the edge of his property before it hit the woods. The prints were big. Bigger than a cat’s, bigger than a dog’s. When Jazz placed his servo next to it, the footsteps spanned from his palm to the tip of his digits.

Nothing in his home was disturbed, so it wouldn’t be a bear or some other wild animals. There was that one dog bowl he found though. Perhaps a neighbour left if there for a stray? He did leave his door open quite often.

~

Blurr’s bar had regulars. Jazz remembered them all by name. He knew what days they frequented, their favourite songs, and their favourite spots to sit. Two young mechs started to show up every once in a while. They always pick the fourth table from the stage to sit. He knew they enjoy something more upbeat – as he saw them nodding along when he played something lively.

However, no matter how hard he tried to see what they looked like, he couldn’t. The flare of the stage light always seemed to obscure that corner of the room. Which was bizarre because this didn’t happen on any other night.

Jazz tried to greet the two after his performance. But when he finished packing up and came out from the storage room, they were gone. He asked Blurr about it but the speedster gave him a weird look. That mech was always pretty eccentric so Jazz just shook his head.

~

He found a piece of black feather on his living room floor one day. It was nice and long but had an oily texture to it. Bits of it melted and mushed together when he rubbed it between his digits.

~

Jazz filled the dog bowl with a can of tuna before he went to work and left his door slightly ajar. If there were strays in the area he could at least leave them some food.

When he came back it was licked clean. Some black liquid dotted a trail from his front door to the kitchen. He dipped his digits in the strange liquid but it dissolved the moment he touched it.

~

The pair of mysterious mechs came to the bar again. Jazz kind of gave up on meeting these ‘new’ patrons. When he was packing up his stuff in the staff room and preparing to go home for the night, he suddenly felt someone standing very close behind. He whipped around quickly but the room was empty.

~

Something was following him home again. The soft pacing of paws hitting the tarmac road only a few steps behind him. Jazz didn’t turn to look, alarm and dread stopped him from doing so.

Because the sun was setting behind him and his silhouette stretched out long in front of him. There was only one shadow on the ground - his. Whatever that was following him, Jazz knew there was nothing there.

~

A note on his fridge read “Ravage”. He didn’t know if it was a threat or not, it was ominous regardless. Jazz can no longer brush off these weird occurrences as something normal. From then on, he locked his doors and closed his windows. The mysterious dog bowl was packed away.

~

"Hey jazz, its Blurr, just wondering if you're coming in tonight? I mean it’s okay if you are not, but I really would appreciate it if you called in advance to tell me. Hopefully, this is just a miscommunication and not some sort of habit, but you have been missing for a few days. It’s kinda hard running a business when you have to chase people up and that kind of stuff you know? Plus poor Sky-byte will have --"

~

There were two birds perched on his kitchen counter. They were slightly larger than what Jazz remembered birds were supposed to be. One of them squawked. Jazz really didn’t know what to do, he didn't even know how they got in! Perhaps he should buy some seeds.

~

His doorbells rung. There was a mech standing there. He looked normal. Very plain. Jazz opened his door.

“How can I help you my mech?” he asked.

The stranger didn’t say anything but shook his head. He was holding a dog bowl in his servos.

~

He finally met the two mysterious mechs that frequented the bar. He caught up to them after playing one night. Walked straight to their table after his song. They seemed nervous at first but after a while, they just turned out to be some punkish young mechs that are far too energetic. Jazz liked them well enough. They’re a bit rough around the edges but at least they have good taste in music.

Strange that he couldn’t clearly picture their faces on his walk home. His memory of them seemed to fall apart when he wasn’t focused enough.

~

There was a soft tap on his window the other night. Jazz turned on his bed side lamp and immediately regretted doing so. His entire floor was covered with a thin layer of black liquid. It was dark and pooled around unnaturally. There was no breeze yet it rippled. Its movement was rigid and stiff as if the consistency was more solid than it looked.

Jazz reached out to touch it with the tip of his pede and felt the thing pulse around him. He felt suddenly nauseous and turned off his optics. Hopefully, this was just a dream, and everything would be gone by the morning.

~

 _SOUNDWAVE_ it said.

It was a murky noise. Jazz felt something heavy rest atop of his body. He drifted in and out of consciousness.

~

Jazz wasn’t even sure if he was in his house or not. This.. _thing_ … whatever it was, it seemed to simultaneously exist as the entirety of the room and as a singularity on top of the sofa. Jazz had a hard time seeing where exactly it was. There was a deep vibration that emanated from around him, and he felt like standing in the void of space, catching far away stars in the corner of his eyes.

~

_What is your designation?_

_SOUNDWAVE_

_So that’s you?_

_YES_

_Is all of that you as well?_

_NO._ _I’M SORRY THAT MY CREATIONS HAVE BOTHERED YOU_

_How many of them do you have?_

_MANY_

_So… the twins, are they yours, too?_

_YES_

_UNFORTUNATELY_

~

Bags of bird seeds piled up by the kitchen corner. There’s also a pantry cupboard just for tuna cans.

~

_Do you like music?_

_DEPENDS_

_Let me show you some of my collections. You’ll love it._

_What do you think of this?_

_I DO NOT DISLIKE IT_

_Come on! it’s a classic!_

_CLASSIC BY YOUR STANDARDS_

_The twins liked it._

_THEY DO NOT HAVE GOOD TASTE_

_~_

He wasn’t really hungry, but he also hadn’t eaten in a while. Maybe skipped a day or something. The Energon tasted strange in his mouth. A bit aged, perhaps out of date. Jazz checked the label but found himself unable to decipher the words.

~

_Where are we right now?_

_WHEREVER YOU WISH TO BE_

_My house?_

_IF THAT IS WHAT YOU WANT_

_~_

“Hey Jazz, its Blurr again. The place lacks vibes without you and your music. We've been playing some synthetic stuff. It’s been a long time, a few weeks since you stopped showing up. I really hope everything is fine. Please call me back or even send me a message. We worry about you alright?”

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully you guys enjoyed that haha. It's pretty weird and experimental, love to hear your opinions. Thanks! :D


End file.
